To Commentate

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Well, perhaps. Hello.

I guarantee you do.

What’s on your mind? Who is this?

This is Bruce Mock.

What’s on your mind, Bruce?

Well, basically it’s this. What gives with the noun commentator? I mean, we’re in the football season now, and I understand that a sports commentator might, you know, provide colorful analysis of the plays or the players in a game, not do the play-by-play. And we’re in the political season now, so are the political commentators or the pundits are providing constructive criticism, shall we say, of politicians. But do any of these commentators actually commentate? I don’t think so. It’s just one of those words that just every time I hear it, I kind of cringe.

Me too, Bruce. I mean, when I hear the word commentator, I think, well, isn’t that a product of Idaho?

Well, yeah.

Oh, that’s an old ponder. That’s the common reaction I have and my daughters have. And I’ve looked it up, of course, and it says, you know, they provide critical analysis or they’re a critic or an analyst.

Yeah.

But they never see the word commentate. And that just, where did this word come from or how did it become so widely accepted, at least in the media these days?

Well, you know, the word commentator is actually older than commentate. Did you know that? Commentate actually comes from commentator. It’s kind of the reverse of what you’d expect.

Okay.

Yeah. I mean, commentator goes all the way back to the 14th century, but back then it was more somebody who’s writing a commentary, right, Grant?

Yeah, like a biblical commentary. And then in the 19th century, we get commentate shows up. So they verbed the noun.

Okay. But the thing about this, they actually are commentating, right?

I would think they would be commenting.

Yeah.

Yeah, I agree with you. But Grant’s right. I mean, this word has been around for a long time. But I do think it sounds weird. Why aren’t they just commenting?

I can understand that I hadn’t thought of the word commentary. If it came from that or vice versa, perhaps I can see where it came into being. But it always struck me as a word that just didn’t belong, like it was a made-up word. It sounds a little awkward. It’s like orient and orientate. Orientate sounds fine to the British, but most Americans kind of are repulsed by it.

Yeah, preventative. It just sounds a little bit pretentious to me. It sounds like something that Howard Cosell would have started, but it just sounds smart.

Exactly. Pretentious is the way I feel about it. What about, Bruce, what about aviate? Does aviate bother you?

Aviate?

Yeah, the thing, what an aviator does.

Okay, that’s consistent with this, yeah. And it’s consistent in another way, too, is that aviator in this case is also the older form, and aviate is a verb’s noun that came much later.

Here’s the thing. Your question is, is commentate okay? And is there a better word for it? I think commentate’s fine because no matter what you see in your dictionary, and actually I think what you read from the dictionary is appropriate, they are commentating. There’s a specific task that sportscasters and people who are observing a scene do when they describe it in their microphone to the audience in the world. And they’re commentating. I don’t know a better word for it. Commenting is not quite right. Commenting to me seems like a much subtler task. It sounds more casual, doesn’t it?

Yeah, with a little less force and a little less of the kind of charisma and color that we get from our sportscasters.

Okay. I guess I’ll just have to live with the word and get used to it.

Well, I don’t think it’s going away. I’m going to react to it the same way every time I hear it.

Well, it burns my latkes, too, I have to say. But basically, I guess the short answer is that it’s formed from the word commentator, which has been around for a long time. I hope if we didn’t help, we at least diverted you for a few minutes, Bruce.

You did. I appreciate that. It’s nice to call you and get the straight story on this.

All right. Thank you, sir.

Does that mean I have to agree with it?

Nope. Absolutely not. I’ll send Martha after you, though, because she’s a tough one.

All right. Take care of yourself.

Take care.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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